JPH10180733A - Method for minute molding of ceramic element - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for minute molding of ceramics wherein minute features are duplicated with high resolution. SOLUTION: A method for minute molding of a ceramic element comprises a process wherein a master mold containing minute features in the range of 0.1-1000μm in dimensions is obtained by subjecting a silicon wafer to etching, a process wherein a female master mold is formed of a material enabling duplication of the minute features, by using the master mold, a process wherein this female master mold is fitted to a die, a process wherein a ceramic powder of which the average particle size is in the range of 0.01-0.3μm is charged in this die, a process wherein an unprocessed base element is formed by compression-molding the ceramic powder and a process wherein this unprocessed base element is sintered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a method of forming a structure or element, and more particularly, to a method of forming a ceramic structure or element that includes replicated microfeatures at a high resolution.

[0002]

2. Description of the Prior Art In the prior art, various molding techniques are known for molding a wide variety of materials. Such molding techniques include, for example, injection molding of metals, plastics, and ceramics by injecting a predetermined amount of molten material into a die, and compression molding of plastics, which shapes plastic materials with heat and pressure. Law. Various compression methods for forming ceramics are well known in the prior art. These compression methods include a dry pressing method, a normal temperature isostatic pressing method, and a hot pressing method. In the hot pressing method, it is generally considered that compression and sintering are performed simultaneously. In carrying out these compression methods, a ceramic powder is mixed with a binder and then compressed. The amount of binder used is generally less than 5% by weight. In addition, the extrusion method,
It is known that ceramics can be molded by other molding techniques including injection molding, gel casting and tape casting. These conventional molding techniques are:
As such, it cannot be used per se to produce small (5 mm ³ or less) elements or structures that contain the desired physical features at the required resolution. In addition, these conventional molding techniques do not allow for the merging of individually molded small ceramic components into an integral structure.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for finely forming ceramics.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fine molding method for replicating fine features with high resolution. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for finely molding ceramics which can be applied to automated mass production of molded articles of ceramic structures and elements. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for microforming discrete ceramic elements that can be subsequently integrated together to form an integral ceramic structure. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for magnitude molding a ceramic structure and elements of less than 5 mm ^3.

[0004]

Briefly stated, these and many other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the detailed description, the claims, and the accompanying drawings. These features, objectives and advantages are first mastered using silicon wafers and dry etching techniques.
old) achieved by making the device. Spatial features with a minimum lateral dimension of the order of 0.1 μm and a depth ranging from 0.1 μm to the thickness of the silicon wafer can be etched onto the silicon wafer and replicated by silicone rubber . The silicon mold device is then placed in a surrounding mold and the surrounding mold is filled with silicone or silicone rubber, preferably an RTV.
A negative master mold is made by loading (trademark) (room temperature vulcanizable silicone rubber compound). Such a material replicates each of the micro-features of the prototype device in great detail with a resolution of the order of 0.1 μm. The female mold is then used in a die to mold the desired individual elements or structures from the ceramic powder that can replicate each microfeature of the female mold at the desired resolution. Depending on the resolution required for each particular micro-molding element, it may be necessary to use ceramic nanoparticles in the micro-forming process. Dimension is 0.1
With a resolution of spatial features as small as about μm and a depth of 2.0 μm, it may be necessary to reduce the size of these features to 0.1 μm in order to fine-shape these features.
Nanoparticles with a size between 01 μm and 0.10 μm can be used. Examples of commercially available ceramic nanoparticles include titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ) and calcium titanate (CaT).
iO ₃ ), which are used to a depth of 2.0 μm
A degree of spatial characteristics can be finely shaped. A prototype device replicates the desired structure of the element or structure to be molded. Then, the obtained micro-formed ceramic element is sintered. If a monolith is to be produced from a plurality of microformed ceramic elements, these elements are first assembled before sintering. Sintering will integrate the element assemblies to form a continuous, unitary structure.
Further, various elements can be manufactured by changing the molding method, and a single structure can be obtained by integrating through sintering. That is, dry press method,
A single continuous integrated structure is obtained by integrating various components molded or finely molded by a normal temperature isopressing method, a tape casting method, a gel casting method, an injection molding method and / or an extrusion molding method by sintering. be able to. Furthermore, a single element, or alternatively multiple elements, can be molded simultaneously from the same mold cavity, preferably by dry pressing, or alternatively by cold isostatic pressing. In order to simultaneously mold a plurality of elements, it is necessary to obtain an integral type device having such a shape that a female mold for producing a sheet-like integral element can be obtained. The integrally formed sheet-like element can then be cut to obtain individual elements.

[0005] can be prepared a wide variety of elements and structures by the use of fine molding DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION. In addition, microforming techniques are useful for mass production of such elements and structures. Therefore, the micro-molding method of the present invention can be effectively used for manufacturing micro-electro-mechanical devices such as light reflecting devices, micro magnets, motors, light modulators, transducers, actuators and sensors for image projection systems. Can be. In addition, micro-mechanical parts such as gears, screws, bolts, nuts, springs, structural members, etc. can be manufactured using the micro-forming method of the present invention.

[0006] The ceramic selected for use in practicing the method of the present invention is characterized in that all of the complex "micro-features" of the individual concrete elements or structures formed in the micro-forming process are of very high precision. Must be processed using very fine particles to be replicated in. As used herein, the term “micro-feature” means a spatial feature of an element or structure having at least one dimension in the range of 0.1 μm to 1000 μm. As used herein, the term “microforming” and variations thereof refer to at least one dimension of 0.1 micron.
It refers to molding elements or structures that include spatial features in the range of μm to 1000 μm. The average particle size of the ceramic powder should generally be in the range of 0.1 μm to 0.3 μm. The finer the micro-features of a particular element or structure, the smaller the particle size of the ceramic powder. Generally, this particle size should be 10% of the smallest dimension of the feature being molded. Therefore, for example, when the size of a complex feature included in an element to be micro-formed reaches a minimum of 0.1 μm × 0.1 μm × 2 μm, ceramic nanoparticles having a particle size of 0.01 μm to 0.02 μm are used. Should be used. The ceramic powder selected for use in micro-compacting a particular element or structure may also depend on the ultimate use of the element or structure. For example,
The element or structure should be an electrical insulator, if it should be conductive, if it should reflect light in the visible spectrum,
And so on. The selected ceramic powder must be capable of imparting the required properties to the particular element or structure.

In order to explain the method of the present invention in some detail, it is necessary to describe the example of the element to be molded. Therefore, the ceramic fine molding method of the present invention will be described below with respect to the specific (but merely illustrative) fine molding of a light reflecting device. First, FIG. 1 shows a partially exploded perspective view of an integrated ceramic light reflecting device 10 which is finely molded as an example. Light reflecting device 10 is designed for use in an image projection system. The micro-shaped integral ceramic light reflecting device 10 includes a ceramic base element 12 having a cavity 16 formed in an upper surface 14. At least one beam 18 extends from one end of the cavity 16 (two beams 18 are shown in FIG. 1). Each beam overhangs the cavity 16 like a cantilever.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the reflection device 10. Beam 1 overhanging cavity 16
8 is laminated with a conductive ceramic layer or ribbon 20, which is also a good reflector of the visible radiation spectrum. On the base of the cavity 16 is provided a laminated conductor 22, also made of ceramic. Ribbon 2
0 is preferably formed by tape-casting titanium nitride (TiN). Titanium nitride is both conductive and light reflective. For the production of the ribbon 20, titanium carbide (T
iC), titanium boride (TiB ₂ ) and boron carbide (B
₄ C) other conductive ceramic may be used, such as. However, such ceramics are not good reflectors for light in the visible spectrum. Therefore, when such other ceramics are used for the ribbon 20, it is necessary to provide a light-reflective coating such as gold, silver or aluminum on the ribbon 20.

The laminated conductor 22 is also preferably formed from a conductive ceramic material by a tape casting method. Since the laminated conductor 22 does not need to be reflective to light in the visible spectrum, the ceramic used to provide the laminated conductor 22 may be titanium carbide (TiC), titanium boride (T
iB ₂ ), boron carbide (B ₄ C), and other known conductive ceramics. As will be described in detail below, both the ceramic ribbon 20 and the laminated conductor 22 are sintered at predetermined positions on the reflecting device 10, respectively.

FIG. 3 shows the reflecting device 10 of FIG. 2 in the context of a schematically illustrated light stop 24, lens 26 and display screen 28. Light incident on the ceramic ribbon 20 from the light source 30 is perpendicular to the surface of the beam 18 when the beam 18 is in an undeflected position, that is, to the ceramic ribbon 20. Beam 18
Is in this undeflected position, no reflected light will pass through the light stop 24 and through the lens 26 onto the display screen 28. When a potential is applied to the ribbon 20 acting as an activation electrode, an electrostatic attraction to the laminated conductor 22 at the base of the cavity 16 acting as a ground electrode acts on the ribbon 20. Due to this electrostatic attraction, the beam 18 is bent downward toward the inside of the cavity 16 as shown in FIG. When the beam 18 is in the deflected position, light incident from the light source 30 onto the reflective ceramic ribbon 20 on the surface of the beam 18 is blocked by the light stop 24 and the lens 2.
6 and is reflected at an angle such that it reaches the display screen 28. Therefore, the micro-shaped reflection device 10 of the present invention
Equivalent to a pixel, the reflective device 10 of the present invention can be used to control the output of light to a certain surface for a single pixel. Thus, the reflection device 10 can be easily applied to digital display and printing.

A drive and control electronics package 32 (see FIG. 1) is secured to the surface 14 of the base element 12. Terminals 33 extending from the drive and control electronics package 32 are soldered and connected to a pair of conductor traces 34 on the surface of the base element 12. A pair of conductor traces 34 connect the drive and control electronics package 32 to the ribbon 20 on the beam 18. further,
Conductors 36, 38 and electrical input terminals 38 are traced on the surface of the base element 12. Input terminal 37 protruding from drive and control electronic component package 32
And conductors 3 to control the electrical input terminals 39, respectively.
6, 38 are connected by soldering.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the reflective and conductive ribbon 20 will flex with the cantilever beam 18. In such a case, if ribbon 20 is simply adhered to the surface of beam 18, beam 18
When the ribbon 20 flexes frequently, stress is applied to the ribbon 20, and the ribbon 20 may be damaged, or the ribbon 20 may be separated from the surface of the beam 18. The possibility of this type of breakage is that the ribbon 20 is sintered in place on the surface of the beam 18 and the ribbon 20
8 by being integrally joined.

In order to finely mold the ceramic light reflecting device 10, it is necessary to first manufacture a seed device 40 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) using a silicon wafer and a dry etching technique. Due to the silicon wafer and the dry etching technique, the structural features for the base element 12 (minimum size 0.1 μm × 0.1 μm × 2.0 μm)
m) at a desired resolution can be manufactured. The prototype device 40 includes a cavity 42 (having dimensions of approximately 1 mm × 1 mm × 0.1 mm depth) on its upper surface, and a smaller recess 44 continuous therewith. The silicon mold 40 is then placed in a surrounding mold 48 to create a female mold 46.
(See FIG. 6). Silicone or silicone rubber, for example, dimethylsiloxane or RTV ™ (room temperature vulcanizable silicone rubber compound) is used as a material for fabricating the female mold 46. Such materials are
The fine features of the prototype device 40 are replicated very finely (until the size is at least 0.1 μm × 0.1 μm × 2 μm). Next, the female mold 46 is attached to a metal die 49 (see FIG. 7), and the light reflection device 1 of the present invention is used by using this.
0 base element 12 is manufactured. The fine granules of the particular ceramic powder are then mixed with an organic binder in a spray dryer and poured into a die 49 containing a female mold 46 made, for example, from RTV ™. The mixture of ceramic powder and organic binder is then dispensed by a compression plate 52 attached to a rod member 54, preferably about 6.9.
× 10 ⁷ Pa (10,000 psi) and about 1.
In 03 × 10 ⁸ Pa (15,000psi) not exceeding pressure, compressed uniaxially to obtain a raw base element 50. A single base element 12 or alternatively multiple base elements 12 can be formed simultaneously from the same mold cavity, preferably by dry pressing or alternatively by cold isostatic pressing. Of course, since a plurality of base elements 12 are formed at the same time, a sheet-like integrated base element 12
It is necessary to obtain an integrated-type device having such a shape that a female-type die for producing the same can be obtained. Then, the integrally formed sheet-like base element 12 can be cut to obtain individual base elements 12.

The ceramic selected for the micro-molding of the light reflector 10 uses very fine particles so that all of the complex features of the reflector 10 are replicated with very high precision during the micro-molding process. Must be made. In the method of the present invention, the base element 12 of the reflecting device 10 is
The powder used to form its pre-compressed and pre-sintered form is zirconium oxide yttria,
Includes those alloyed with one or more second oxide powders selected from the group consisting of ceria, calcia, and / or magnesia. This powder should have certain properties to obtain the ceramics of the present invention consisting essentially of a tetragonal phase and a grain structure free of cubic and monoclinic phases. The particle size and distribution of the powder is uniform and the size of the agglomerates is 30
It needs to be in the range of μm to 60 μm and the average is 50 μm. "Agglomerates" can be defined as aggregates of individual particles of a ceramic powder, each of which can include multiple grains. A “grain” can be defined as a crystal inside a grain that has a spatial orientation that is inconsistent or distinguishable from adjacent grains. The size of the crystal grains is 0.
It should be in the range 1 μm to 6 μm, the preferred size being 0.3 μm. The term "net-shape" herein is used, for example, as a net-shaped ceramic or a net-shaped part, but does not change in dimensions after sintering and thus requires additional mechanical processing before use in the intended working environment. No processing is required. In other words, the dimensions of both the green part and the ceramic are
Since it is possible to predict the amount of shrinkage during sintering of the unprocessed part, it is possible to obtain a ceramic part having a predetermined shape and size. The amount of shrinkage of the compressed powder along any axis relative to the net-shaped ceramic must be less than 0.001% to produce a net-shaped ceramic of the present invention with tight and predictable dimensional tolerances. . Such parts can then be placed in the intended application without any machining. The purity of the material also needs to be sufficiently controlled in the range of 99.9 to 99.99% by weight, that is, the amount of impurities needs to be 0.1 to 0.01% by weight or less. is there.

The water content of the powder should be kept in the range of 0.2 to 1.0% by volume, based on the volume of the powder when compacted. If the powder is too dry, the porosity of the ceramic becomes too high, while if the water content is too high, the untreated part may not be released from the mold surface well. The preferred water content is 0.1.
5%.

The powder is compressed into a green part by means such as a die press. As used herein, the term "green part" means that the powder is in a compressed, unsintered state. The powder should be compacted by applying a uniform compressive force to the powder to obtain a green part having a uniform density. A preferred compression device to achieve a uniform compression force is a floating mold die press. The green part should have a predetermined density selected by the operator to obtain a net-shaped ceramic article after sintering. For example, for powders having the specific composition described herein (zirconia alloyed with yttria, ceria, calcia, and / or magnesia), the preferred green part density is 3.0 g / cc to 3.5 g / cc. Range.
The compression pressure determines the density of the green part and consequently the density of the ceramic. If the compression pressure is too low, the ceramic will exhibit a lower density than desired and may not achieve the desired net shape. If the compression pressure is too high, the untreated part will delaminate, and the intended application, for example,
Ceramics with defects for cutting may be obtained.
The compression pressure of the alloyed zirconia powder is about 6.9 × 10
⁷ to about 1.03 × 10 ⁸ Pa (10,000 to 15.0
00 psi) and a preferred compression pressure is about 8.3 × 10 ⁷ Pa (12,000 psi).

The compression time can be easily determined by an operator according to the selected compression pressure. The compression time is
For example, when the compression pressure is about 6.9 × 10 ⁷ to about 1.03 × 10
^In the range of ⁸ Pa (10,000 to 15,000 psi), the range can be 60 seconds to 10 seconds, and when the compression pressure is about 8.3 × 10 ⁷ Pa (12,000 psi), 30 seconds. It can be. To produce a net-shaped ceramic according to the present invention, the powder is compacted to a certain density for a particular powder, for example, from 3.0 g / cc.
The compression is performed for a time sufficient to form a green part having 3.5 g / cc. It is well known that operator selected compression pressure and compression time can depend on the size of the final part. Generally, as components become larger, the compression pressure and / or compression time increase.

The compaction of the powder is performed in the presence of a water-soluble organic binder such as polyvinyl alcohol, gelatin or a polyester ionomer. The binder can be added to the powder and mixed by, for example, a spray drying method or a ball milling method before loading the powder into a compression device.

In order to finely mold the light reflecting device 10, zirconia particles having an average particle diameter of 0.3 μm are used. Due to this particle size, replication becomes possible through fine molding of minute features of about 3 μm × 3 μm. In this way, the structure of the silicon-type device 40 can be substantially replicated at the resolution required for the manufacture of a light reflecting device for use in an image projection system. Of course, the required resolution will depend on the particular element or article to be microformed. For example, if the article to be molded is a microgear having fine features of about 2 μm with a dimensional tolerance of 0.1 μm instead of molding the light reflection device 10, the selected ceramic can have an average particle size of 0.02 μm. TiO ₂
Would be appropriate.

The base element 1 of the ceramic light reflecting device 10
2 can be produced from zirconia microparticles (0.1-0.3 μm) alloyed with one or more of the second oxide powders such as yttria, ceria, calcia and / or magnesia. If yttria or calcia is selected, its mol% will be in the range of 0.5 to 5.0.
In the case of magnesia, its mol% is in the range of 0.1 to 1.0. The second oxide may be physically mixed,
It is preferable to mix chemically by a coprecipitation method. The alloyed powder is then ball milled and spray dried with 2-5% by weight of an organic binder such as polyvinyl alcohol.

The green base element 50 is initially formed without the beam 18 in place. As shown in FIG. 8, a separately shaped green beam 56 is placed on the green base element 50 before sintering. The green beam 56 is independently formed by dry pressing or tape casting using the same alloyed ceramic zirconia powder used to fabricate the green base element 50. As with the unprocessed base element 50, in the unprocessed stage, one or more unprocessed beams 56 are fabricated in a single cavity mold and then cut or sliced into a single unprocessed beam 5.
It can be 6. Here, similarly, when yttria or calcia is selected, its mol% is 0.5 to 5.
The range is 0. In the case of magnesia, its mol% is 0.1.
It is in the range of 1 to 1.0. The second oxide may be physically mixed, but is preferably chemically mixed by a coprecipitation method. The important thing is to alloy the ceramic powder at the above ratio to obtain a tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline structure. Due to the tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline structure (after sintering), the beam 18 can exhibit good bending performance as well as fracture resistance and fatigue fracture resistance. These properties are necessary where millions of cycles between the position where each beam 18 does not flex and its flexure during its life can be determined.

An untreated beam 56 is placed over the microformed untreated base element 50 with one end of the untreated beam 56 inserted into the recess 44. As shown in FIG. 8, a green ribbon or green ribbon made by tape-casting a conductive ceramic on the green beam 56 and on the bottom of the cavity 62, preferably on a Mylar ™ support web. The laminated body 58 and the unprocessed laminated conductor 60 are arranged. The ceramic used in the tape casting process to make the green ribbon 58 and green laminate conductor 60 must be a conductive ceramic material. In addition, the ceramic used in the tape casting process to produce the untreated ribbon 58 (which will eventually become the ribbon 20 after sintering) must also exhibit high reflectivity to visible light. The untreated ribbon 58 is preferably formed by tape casting titanium nitride (TiN). Titanium nitride is both conductive and light reflective. Other conductive ceramics such as titanium carbide (TiC), titanium boride (TiB ₂ ), and boron carbide (B ₄ C) may be used to fabricate the green ribbon 58. However, such ceramics are not good reflectors for light in the visible spectrum. Therefore, such other ceramics are transferred to the ribbon 2
If used, the ribbon 20 must be provided with a light reflective overlay or coating after sintering. The provision of a gold or silver coating or overlay (which can be broadly included in a “laminate”) after sintering provides a usable light reflective surface for the ribbon 20. The unprocessed laminated conductor 60 is also preferably formed by tape casting from a conductive ceramic material. Unprocessed laminated conductor 60 (which eventually becomes laminated conductor 22 after sintering)
Does not preferably exhibit high reflectance with respect to light in the visible spectrum, the ceramic used for obtaining the unprocessed laminated conductor 60 may be one of known conductive ceramics. Such conductive ceramics include titanium carbide (TiC), boron carbide (B
₄ C), tungsten carbide (WC), titanium boride (T
borides such as iB ₂ ) and zirconium boride (ZrB ₂ ); silicides such as molybdenum silicide (MoSi ₂ ) and niobium silicide (Nb ₂ Si ₅ ); and other known conductive ceramics. .

The untreated beam 56 and the untreated ribbon 58 are
During the sintering process, the green beam 56 and green ribbon 58 should be secured against movement with respect to the green base element 50. The fixation can be performed by placing a weight 66 on the untreated beam 56 and the end of the untreated ribbon 58 located in the recess 44 (see FIG. 8). Weight 66 can be made from a piece of sintered oxide ceramic such as alumina, magnesia or zirconia. Next, the green base element 50, green beam 56, green ribbon 58
And sintering the unprocessed laminated conductor 60 in air at 1500 ° C. for 2 hours to form a basic part of the finely shaped sintered reflector 70 of the device 10 of the present invention. One example is shown in FIG. The basic components of the micro-formed sintered reflector 70 include a base element 12, a beam 18, a reflective and conductive ribbon 20, and a conductive laminate 22, which are joined together as a result of sintering. A preferred sintering schedule for sintering the green base element 50 and green beam 56 is as follows. (A) Heat the green parts from room temperature to 300 ° C. at 0.3 ° C./min. (B) Unprocessed parts from 300 ° C to 400 ° C at 0.1 ° C
/ Min. (C) 0.4 ° C from 400 ° C to 600 ° C for unprocessed parts
/ Min. (D) Unprocessed parts from 600 ° C to 1500 ° C for 1.5
Heat at ° C / min. (E) Maintain the untreated part at 1500 ° C. for 120 minutes to form a sintered reflector. (F) The sintered reflector is heated from 1500 ° C to 800 ° C at 2 ° C /
Cool in minutes. (G) Cool the sintered reflector from 800 ° C. to room temperature at 1.6 ° C./min to form a finely shaped ceramic reflector. For such a sintering schedule, see US Pat.
411,690. This sintering schedule is specific to the case where zirconium oxide is alloyed with one or more second oxides described above.
Sintering schedules for other ceramic materials and mixtures thereof will be different.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a finely molded integrated ceramic light reflecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a case where a beam is not bent, together with an image projection optical system and a light source, of the finely-molded integrated ceramic light reflecting device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing a case where the beam is bent, together with the image projection optical system and the light source, of the finely formed integrated ceramic light reflecting device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a base element of a finely shaped ceramic light reflecting device.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the base element of the micro-shaped ceramic light reflecting device, taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a molding apparatus used for producing a female mold.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for fabricating a base element of a ceramic light reflecting device finely molded using a female mold.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an unprocessed base element and an unprocessed beam fabricated for sintering.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of a finely shaped sintered reflector of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Light reflection device 12 ... Base element 14 ... Upper surface 16, 42 ... Cavity 18 ... Beam 20 ... Ribbon 22 ... Laminated conductor 24 ... Light stop 26 ... Lens 28 ... Display screen 30 ... Light source 32 ... Electronic component packaging 33, 37 ... Terminals 34 ... Conductor traces 36 and 38 ... Conductor 40 ... Type device 44 ... Indentation 46 ... Female type 48 ... Peripheral die 49 ... Die 50 ... Unprocessed base element 52 ... Compression plate 54 ... Rod member 56 ... Unprocessed Beam 58 Untreated ribbon 60 Untreated laminated conductor 66 Weight 70 Finely shaped sintered reflector

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor William J. Grande United States, New York 14534, Pittsford, Heathcote Court 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for finely molding a ceramic element, comprising the following steps (a) to (f). (A) a step of etching a silicon wafer to obtain a mold including fine features having a size in the range of 0.1 μm to 1,000 μm; (b) a material capable of replicating the fine features using the mold. Forming a female mold; (c) attaching the female mold to a die; (d) having an average particle size of 0.01 μm to 0.3 μm on the die.
(E) compression molding the ceramic powder to form a green base element; and (f) sintering the green base element. 2. A method for finely molding a ceramic article, comprising the following steps (a) to (h). (A) a step of etching a silicon wafer to obtain a mold including fine features having a size in the range of 0.1 μm to 1,000 μm; (b) a material capable of replicating the fine features using the mold. Forming a female mold; (c) attaching the female mold to a die; (d) having an average particle size of 0.01 μm to 0.3 μm on the die.
(E) compression molding the ceramic powder to form a first green element; (f) forming a second green element from the ceramic powder; g) supporting the first unprocessed element and the second unprocessed element in a predetermined contact relationship; and (h) supporting the first unprocessed element and the second unprocessed element in the predetermined contact relationship. Sintering process